Chechen teenager arrested in Le Mans, France, accused of planning a terrorist attack
A 16-year-old native of Chechnya has been taken into custody in France on charges of planning a terrorist attack. This was reported on the website of the French publication Liberation. The teenager’s name was not given.
 
According to Le Figaro, the arrest took place on November 5 on the outskirts of Le Mans. During the search, an imitation pistol and a knife were allegedly found on the minor. The publication cites an informed source who reported that the detainee was an active user of a social network, where he watched propaganda materials of the terrorist organization ISIS. Among them were video instructions on how to make explosives. There are also suspicions that the young man was looking for real weapons in specialized stores. It is reported that one of the possible targets of the planned terrorist attack was a local synagogue.
 
On November 8, the minor was charged with participating in a terrorist organization. It is unknown for how long he was placed in pretrial detention.
 
Recall that on October 13, 2023, 20-year-old Mohammed Mogushkov, a native of Ingushetia, committed a knife attack at a school in Arras. He fatally wounded a teacher and stabbed two more school employees. It is reported that before the attack, the man shouted "Allahu Akbar".
The Russian embassy in Paris stated that Mohammed Mogushkov was radicalized in France, since he was a child when he arrived there with his family.
 
Following this incident, the head of the French Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gerald Darmanin, ordered the expulsion of "dangerous" Russians to the Russian Federation. The minister considers such, as far as one can judge from his activities in this post, primarily natives of the North Caucasus Federal District, in particular Chechens.
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